SALT LAKE CITY -- Believing they were baby-sitting an abandoned blackbear cub, five elk hunters were relieved to see a wildlife official arriveat their hunting camp.

That is, until he stepped from the truck, asked, "Where is the little
bear?" and pulled out his handgun, shooting the cub out of the tree.

The cub fell to the ground, squalling with a stomach wound. Despitepleas toput the cub out of its misery with another shot, state wildlifeenforcement officer Garrett Whatcott watched the cub die five or six minuteslater, according to witnesses.

"It was surreal. It was a nightmare frame from a movie," said TamaraWoodbury.

Woodbury, who is executive director of the Girl Scouts-Arizona
Cactus-Pine Council, had been throwing fish into the tree to feed the bear priorto Whatcott's arrival, The Salt Lake Tribunereported in a copyrightstory Saturday.

The hunters set up camp Oct. 9 in the Lost Springs part of Ashley
National Forest on the South Slope of the Uintas. The small bear cub wanderedintocamp the next day. The bear seemed desperate for food, the hunterssaid.

The hunters kept an eye out for a mother bear and secured their foodand trash. That afternoon, while they were gone, the bear cub got intosome trash but not the food. The next morning, when the hunters returned,thebear was in camp licking a Crisco can and dirty dishes.

The cub scampered up a tree.

Concerned it was starving, two of the hunters drove to Manila, about114 miles northeast of Salt Lake City, and contacted U.S. Forest Serviceofficials.

Told about possible cub rehabilitation programs, the hunters asked iftheycould capture the bear with nets and a dog kennel, but were told theymustwait for a Utah division of wildlife officer, who would arrive bynoon.

At 4 p.m., Wendy Hill, a research administrator at the Huntsman
Cancer Institute, drove back to Manila to inquire about the delay and wastold tocall Whatcott, who told them repeatedly to move their camp if theyhad a problem with the cub.

The group explained they did not fear for themselves, only for the
cub. Whatcott showed up just after 5 p.m. and shot the bear.

Woodbury said the cub had just sprouted teeth and weighed around 20pounds.She held its head while it died.

The three women asked for the bear's carcass so they could bury it.Whatcott refused, Woodbury said, and instead threw the carcass into the backof his truck, "where his dog got after it."

The five hunters have since complained about Whatcott to Utah Gov.Mike Leavitt and Utah Division of Wildlife Director Kevin Conway.

Conway said Whatcott was acting on his regional supervisor's order,which was in line with division policy.

Regional wildlife manager Boyde Blackwell told Whatcott to put the drought-starved cub down because Utah wildlife officials have alreadysent three cubs to a problem-bear rehab center in Boise, Conway said.

A first-year officer, Whatcott will receive sensitivity counseling,
Conway said. Comments made by Forest Service personnel on the sceneregarding otheranimal-shooting incidents involving Whatcott would also beinvestigated, Conway said.

"He (Whatcott) went in and I don't think handled it with the
sensitivity the circumstances merited," Conway said. "My concern is not with thedecision totake the bear. I can live with that, but it was how it was done."

Whatcott did not return a call seeking comment.

Wildlife officers have killed 70 "problem" black bears this year so
far, mostly for killing sheep and cattle in the central part of the state.Thestate has an estimated 3,500 bears.